Racing For A Living

Fortune sides with him who dares.― Virgil

Originally titled “Rodgers Moves North” from Track & Field News, November 1980.

Toronto, October 5 – A few short hours after placing seventh in the Diet Pepsi 10K, Bill Rodgers jetted north to run the Labatt’s Toronto Marathon.

“I’m probably not going to win in New York because this race took a lot out of me,” said the King of the Roads after a 2:14:47 win.

Ron Tabb (second place in 2:16:57) and Mike Dyon (did not finish) made the early pace fast enough that Rodgers could only hope they would fade.

“For the first twenty kilometers I was really worried,” Rodgers explained. “My pace was pretty slow on the way out and I felt terrible. I knew I had to wait until the way back to make my move.”

Rodgers caught Tabb, who had run a ten-miler in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, the day before, at about twenty miles.

Boston Billy said, “As soon as I broke from Ron, I relaxed.” And won another marathon.

“This is a major race, as far as I’m concerned, and I hope my win proves something to those people who keep saying I only run well in the United States. I may get creamed in New York but I’ve won that marathon for four consecutive years and now I have to seek new challenges in other countries.”

Here’s the thing. Come across this little race report from back when running was young and so were we and I was amused. Billy and Ron racing in the USA one day and then a marathon in Canada the next day.

I asked Bill what he remembered, nudging him about, you know, dollars, the dash for cash.

(Always thought they were among the hardest workers in show biz.)

I’m looking at my 1980 log. I have my logs going back to 1973 but the race in Toronto I’ve got written down.

‘Won Labatt’s Toronto Marathon in a slow 2:14:47. Windy most of the race. 32:39 for 10K 65 minute plus for 20k! Cuz it was so windy.’

Ron took off from the gun and was way ahead, hundred yards or more in the lead going out into the wind. But for the last ten miles, you know we had the wind at our back, and that’s where I was able to move up.

The day before I did run a race, the Diet Pepsi Nationals – I have ‘Purchase, New York’, and I took seventh there in 28:43.48.

But I think, looking through my books, yes, I wasn’t just staying home and training. You know, we were all trying to make a living. Trying to start up our running stores, things like that. It was different than today when the runners get so much better paid by shoe companies.

Of course, anything we did was considered against the rules or something anyway. That was difficult but… but it was also fun.

Bill Rodgers December 8, 2020

I asked Mr. Tabb much the same question. Why?

I was caught trying to decide whether to do both races that weekend. I knew if I did both races I’d likely be hurting my chances of winning the marathon. But I was in good shape and I knew I’d still be okay in Toronto.

Toughest part was the traveling from Eugene to Baton Rouge, then to Toronto. Didn’t get much sleep before either race and didn’t eat the way I normally would before either race. I didn’t realize Bill was running until the morning of the race. Had I known, I wouldn’t have run Baton Rouge and I would have traveled to Toronto a day earlier.

I didn’t have a chance to see the course, so I really didn’t have a strategy. Tried to run a pace I thought I could maintain for 26.2 miles, came up a little short of winning but I was fine with being able to finish second behind Bill. No shame for me with that.

You have to understand, I never expected to have the career I had! I was a 9:56 2 miler in HS and an okay college runner. Everything for me after college was totally unexpected! My original goal after college in 1977 was to get a qualifying time for the 1980 Olympic marathon trials.

I believed I could do that because in ’75 & ’76 the assistant coach (Bob Busby) we had at CMSU (Central Missouri State University) had run the Trials in ’76. Because I consistently was able to beat him in workouts, I felt I might be good enough to qualify myself by putting in more miles.

Ron Tabb December 9, 2020

Don’t know Ron as well as I know Bill, so I asked him straight out – were you doing this just for the appearance money?

One thousand dollars for Baton Rouge and five thousand for Toronto.

ibid.

Five thousand dollars in 1980 is equal to $16,751.89 in 2020.

More miles paying off.

---